MovieChat Forums > The Comedy (2012) Discussion > this film is a beautiful work of art

this film is a beautiful work of art

posted 12 years ago by cerealcinema
14 replies | jump to latest

and like a lot of good art, it doesn't present itself as beautiful or serious, but rather as vulgar and distasteful, making it easy to fall victim to the obvious myopic criticism (gross/boring/uneventful) rather than see all the subtle tones (even through the crass humor) that are awash all over the movie. a heavy emotional game of pinball bouncing you around this flick does a lot with a little. under the guise of unflinching pitch black humor there lies cutting commentary on contemporary humanity through our beloved anti-hero. i love this movie.

[–] help-293-34865 12 years ago

Please explain what you understand to be the cutting commentary. What do you love about the movie?

[–] cerealcinema 12 years ago

how meaning in one's life via the ideals force fed through a vapid consumerist culture is unfulfilling and not worthy of even participating in.his uncalculated and impulsive abilities to cut through social norms and disrupt other's sense of well being speaks to me as commentary on a society that seemingly is civilized and wants to see itself as educated and enlightened but is honestly only concerned about superficial appearances but is actually very ugly. deep down we are irrational animalistic and hedonistic, angry creatures and swanson reminds us of that. he is the 'id' we suppress on a daily basis, a hysterical, fractured, detached and ultimately frightened creature with no sense of meaning or purpose in this post modern life on the verge of collapse both inside oneself to outside of oneself- from societies across the world to the environment itself- where there truly is no meaning or purpose other than to consume and destroy. aka drink and disrupt. religion and the hope of salvation are dead dogs and the the church scene where they are ridiculing such a sanctioned holy place is another scene of bitter commentary on laughing at hope in it's face. all of these themes reverberate deeply within me, which is why i love this movie so. it feels like a modern cassavetes movie...

[–] help-293-34865 12 years ago

I don't see any of that in the film. The main character attempts to mock, annoy, and irritate people to provoke a reaction, without apparent motivation, other than a personal need arising from his own jaded detachment.

Maybe the film is a comment on the path of our society's popular, ironic, provocative sense of humor, always trying to push the boundaries of taste & common decency. When does ironic racism become real racism? When does the joke stop being funny? Or, is it funny because it's not funny? When we are already many years from Mr. Hanky, the Xmas poo, from South Park, what sacred cows are left to slaughter? This is the end result of hipster humor -- the death of sincerity, empathy, & feeling. In a post-Borat society that can't be shocked, the only logical reaction to the main character is a blank stare. We're way past funny -- drama is the new comedy.

This idea would work well in a short film, but as a full-length feature, the idea wears out its welcome quickly. I think the film fails as a character study of a detached, aging hipster. The main character and his friends are nothing more than a cultural critique, and the film should have ended once the point was made.

[–] AndWon 12 years ago

yeah this is basically what the movie was about, and the anti-hero label is accurate.

[–] absolootleefree 11 years ago

i just have to say, cassavetes was never about any of those things, especially intellectualizing. he was about people. I do see similarities in theme. mostly this movie is about a nihilist mannish-boy whose senses are completely dulled as a result of never really suffering. He got to float through life, ultimately we are meant to empathize with him because of his forever undeveloped and immature state. It's a tragedy the way a an abused heroin addict is a tragedy. There is more to delve into if you want to, cultural impact and psychological, but that's the main gist.

[–] mark2115 12 years ago

If you interpreted the main character as an anti-hero, you completely missed the point of the movie or don't understand the term. What you wrote now comes off as extremely pretentious.

[–] help-293-34865 12 years ago

Mark, what do you see as the point of the movie?

[–] cerealcinema 12 years ago

sorry mark, he is the quintessential anti-hero, you are mistaken about the term. checking m-w.com is helpful before posting your misinformed thoughts.

now back to the movie!

i think the open script and ability for the actors to run with their own dialogue is a great thing and i really enjoy seeing their minds/creativity work in real time.

[–] ommik 12 years ago

any episode of SpongeBob Squarepants contains more cultural critique than this piece of crap.

[–] cerealcinema 12 years ago

we see art where it is relavent. feel free to favor an animated underwater sponge over an eclectic reflection on the human condition of post-modern life.

[–] ragboypizza 11 years ago

I think it's stunning. Most people won't get it. But most people are unwilling to be challenged in the least and fear anything out of the ordinary. It's too bad that some people are so boring.

Look at how thoughtful the discussion is in this thread. But then comes the popcorn crowd, offering nothing more insightful than calling the movie crap. Yawn. Go play with your phone.

I'm willing to bet the people who like The Comedy are pretty smart and a have a wicked sense of humour. Unfunny people should avoid this movie. It could damage you.

[–] AndWon 12 years ago

if you didn't get it, you didn't get it. move along wanky kong, spongebob is a *beep* cartoon.

[–] absolootleefree 11 years ago

i agree. people are going to have their interpretations based on their own experience but "beloved anti-hero" was never the intent of this film. the main characters are ill, not the world around them as he seems to be suggesting

heidecker says: "The biggest mistake people could make is watch the movie and think there’s any condoning of anyone in it. This character is clearly meant to be grotesque."

[–] SamuelLJedi 12 years ago

Yes